Judy, Judy, Judy

I dare say most of us do not have to contend with celebrity so immense that it consumes our private lives and distorts our view of the world.

Stew Goodwin

HEARTTHROB AND HEARTBREAK – Larry Marsland looks into the soul of Judy Garland in Night Falls on the Emerald City at Cotuit Center for the Arts.

I dare say most of us do not have to contend with celebrity so immense that it consumes our private lives and distorts our view of the world. Judy Garland, born Frances Gumm, was a celebrity of such magnitude for such a long time that as her star began to fade she found herself unable to deal with ordinary living.

It is this tormented Judy that Larry Marsland presents to the Cotuit Center for the Arts audience in his one-man play, Night Falls on Emerald City, based upon a single night in Boston a year before she died at age 47 on June 22, 1969. The play takes place in a hotel room after a concert at the Back Bay Theater for which Marsland was an usher. It speculates upon the reason Garland never showed up for her scheduled appearance the following evening. Her conflicts unroll largely through dialog from her end of a telephone call series.

Although the subject of this play concerns the descent of a demon-filled miasma, it is clear that Marsland is a Garland admirer. Even so, he grasps the contradictions in her perceived persona. “To some she is Dorothy searching for that magical place the dreams that you dare to dream really do exist… To others she is a narcissistic, self-destructive addict who burned the candle at both ends.”

However you might view her, there is no denying that Judy connected with audiences. Marsland describes an artist who “had the ability to make each song her own song because she was willing to risk singing from the heart rather than the head.” Like you, I felt her pull from seats in movie theaters. I also was able to bathe in her charisma at the Carnegie Hall concert in 1961, when I was a senior in college. Additionally, I was fortunate to meet her twice, seeing only the friendly, charming side of her and not any of the destruction.

In his play Marsland offers a super star at the sordid tail end of her career. He shows someone wrestling with her former self, little Francis, with crumbling fame, and with the neglect of those that once fawned. His presentation evokes sympathy, even empathy as his love of Judy shines through the decay. He allows us to see a poignant search for Garland’s own Emerald City 29 years after her third film, The Wizard Of Oz, which she made at age 17.

Much of the play’s dialog involves attempt to flee to New York City. She hopes to stay with her daughter, Liza Minnelli, now a budding Broadway talent. Judy hopes to recharge her batteries in an apartment on the 14th floor of 400 West End Avenue. I know that because a year and a half after the incident depicted in this play my wife, three of our eventual four children, and I moved into the apartment just below. Liza had recently departed.

Those of you with affection or compassion for Judy Garland will find Larry Marsland’s play a moving experience.

Night Falls on Emerald City is at the Couit Center for the Arts on Route 28 July 16 and Aug. 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 8 p.m. For tickets ($12), go to www.cotuitarts.org or call 508-428-0669.